Curiosity run amok . . .

The Comma Rules!

“After eating my siblings and I left the table.” “After eating, my siblings and I left the table.” That changes things doesn’t it?

Now I love my siblings, preferable without a side of fries. I also love to play with words. The marrying of simple nous and verbs and other strange technical babbling can bring someone to tears or give them a great belly laugh. Words can make you think, change your opinion or show you the truth. Unless . . . .

Ill spoken, or written, words will achieve nothing. Except perhaps to fill up space on a page. Even well written words can only have a life if they are read. It is a relationship, a marriage if you will, between the writer and the reader. It may only last a few seconds or a few minutes but it can be intense and fulfilling. However . . .

The words may be perfection but their arrangement may be skewed. If you have to reread a sentence several times to understand it’s meaning then, perhaps, it is not arranged correctly. Punctuation helps to guide us through the words in order to make sense of them. And we could all use a little more sense.

I was never taught grammar in school. As a child I read voraciously and I had parents who would not accept slang. I either spoke correctly or I went hungry. Ok, it wasn’t that bad. I learned by example. In school I was put into an advanced group for reading because it was thought I understood the mechanics of the English language, I did not. Oops.

I use punctuation to make the sentences make sense to me. I do it by ear. As a writer I also, sometimes intentionally, do not follow the rules. Especially when writing poetry, there is a rhythm, a cadence that is important. But also as a writer it is important to be understood.

I once asked the question: “. . . if no one reads your words do they matter?” The answer is yes! Even if it’s only to me.

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14 thoughts on “The Comma Rules!”

Aha…so, you did eat your siblings then Pam? Trying to hide it within that nasty English language. Very dangerous stuff, I’ve tortured many people with those English technicalities, especially in mobile phone text’s…and don’t get me started on auto spell correction, it has a mind of its own…literally 😀

hahaha I read that first line exactly as written – you ate your siblings – and was expecting some kind of horror story! 😀
I also play around with grammar these days and start sentences with And etc. I write in my blog as someone might speak, because I am chatting to my readers.
And Yes I whole-heartedly agree. Of course our words matter, even if no-one reads them. 🙂

Living life with a chronic illness is definitely not easy. But I do my best to push through all the barriers this illness puts in front of me! In my heart and mind, I believe maintaining a positive outlook on all situations in life will carry us through to much better times! I hope you find the information that I provide both helpful and inspirational!

Retired from the University of Texas and too old to play soccer anymore. Now, in the twilight of his years, time is spent writing in this blog, hiking and exploring Texas Parks, photography, working out, gardening and tending to the five ponds he built .